The impact of aquaculture on the national economies of England, Wales and Northern Ireland is “very modest,” states a new report compiled by the U.K. Seafish Authority. Indeed, the total production by these countries has fallen from 34,394 metric tons (MT) in 2010 to 21,342 MT in 2014, generating farm gate sales totalling GBP 54 million (USD 68.6 million, EUR 61.3 million). This is estimated to benefit to the U.K. economy by around GBP 100 million (USD 127.1 million, EUR 113.7 million).
Seafish’s report confirmed the aquaculture industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been relatively stagnant over the last three decades with an apparent decline in recent years, despite impressive growth rates in many other countries, including Scotland. It highlighted that there have been some significant successes in the application of recirculation technology to hatchery fry and smolt production, and some major failures related to the application of indoor recirculation technology for the production of both freshwater and marine finfish for the table.
There are some signs that shellfish farming may be entering a growth phase, said the study, but this is highly constrained by a wide range of factors such as seed and optimal site availability, as well as by water quality issues.
Seafish also said there is “limited potential,” in the short- and medium-term, for the large-scale recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) production of table fish and crustaceans due to high production costs and relatively limited market premia for fish grown in this way.
Similar arguments apply to hydroponic and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems, though the latter may evolve naturally at a more “water body” scale across different specialist producers, it said.
English finfish production is dominated by rainbow trout with around 8,000 MT produced annually in recent years – mainly for the table, but with significant amounts for restocking and on-growing (>2,000 MT each). The value of this production in 2012 was estimated at around GBP 18 million (USD 22.9 million, EUR 20.4 million).
Wales produced roughly 250MT of rainbow trout, worth around GBP 500,000 (USD 635,563, EUR xxx), of which around 60 percent went to the table market and the rest for stocking. Northern Ireland produced 563 MT of rainbow trout worth around GBP 1.2 million (USD 1.5 million, EUR 1.4 million).
Brown trout production in England amounted to just over 300 MT, worth around GBP 750,000 (USD 953,426, EUR 851,539), and modest amounts of Arctic char (7 MT) and Atlantic salmon (4 MT) were produced for restocking. Small amounts of brook trout were also produced in both England and Wales for stocking purposes. Northern Ireland produced 44 MT of brown trout worth GBP 100,000 (USD 127,123, EUR 113,518).
In 2012, several RAS systems were in operation producing roughly 100 MT of tilapia in England and around 190 MT of European seabass in Wales. Production of the latter – in a system originally developed for turbot and subsequently for 1,000 MT of seabass – has now ceased and new opportunities are being explored, including the production of wrasse and lumpfish for use as cleaner fish in salmon farming.
Meanwhile, total shellfish production in 2012 amounted to 7,000 MT worth GBP 10 million (USD 12.7 million, EUR 11.4 million) in England; 9,000 MT worth GBP 9 million (USD 11.4 million, EUR 10.2 million) in Wales; and 5,000 MT worth GBP 5.3 million (USD 6.7 million, EUR 6 million) in Northern Ireland. Production was dominated by mussels in all three countries. Pacific oysters were the second most important species, followed by European oysters, hard clams and Manila clams.
No production of farmed scallops was recorded for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2012, but some production is now underway.
